Love with Every Beat

by K. L. Shandwick

  “You’ve been asleep for a week, Lily. One night after a concert, you told me could sleep for a week because you were so tired, I never expected you to demonstrate it to me.” She chuckled as I tried to make light of what happened.

  “So… I thought you weren’t the hearts-and-flowers kind of guy? What’s happened to you Alfie?” Lily croaked.

  Running my hand through my hair, I smiled lovingly to her. “You’re not allowed to mention this after you leave this room. I won’t have my hard-hearted reputation tainted just because I love you. Better get your cell out and snap a few pictures because the only other time I’d ever buy flowers would be for a wedding.”

  Lily cried out in pain when she tried to move her arm,

  “Do you remember what happened, Lily?” Lily shook her head.

  “You were electrocuted. You’re lucky to be alive. You have a contact burn on your right hand and forearm. It happened when you started to play your guitar. One of the cables had a break in it and wasn’t fully insulated. The rain conducted the electricity when you played with the plectrum. An electrical surge entered your body on that side. I saw the whole thing, and it’s a sight I still see, every time I close my eyes.” Lily looked puzzled.

  “You’re wondering why I was there, aren’t you. I used my Christmas present from you to come and see you that night. I couldn’t stay away any longer. Sometimes things happen for a reason, and I guess I was supposed to be there. You were very lucky the stadium has its own medical team and defibrillator, so they were able to restart your heart quickly.”

  Smoothing her hair down, I said, “You’re not going to be playing your guitar for a while. The doctors said there should be a minimal amount of scaring, but you’re going to need intensive physical therapy on your arm, because the muscles and nerves were affected by the surge.”

  A look of panic gripped her, “Where is Lennon, Cody and the others?”

  “They’re playing alone, Lily. I’ve been keeping them updated on your progress, but they have a contract with Cobham Street, and they needed to finish the commitment they made to the tour.”

  “I saw the pictures of you and Alice, Alfie.” I snickered, “Yeah, that. You know she’s gay right? She was on my lap as a message Lily. No woman could come near me. She was protecting your position from the groupies and fans. I figured Rick would tell you about her so that you wouldn’t worry.”

  Lily’s parents arrived and her dad updated her, “The doctor says that there are a few tests to make sure there are no gaps in your memory bank, and then we can take you home in a couple of days.”

  As if on cue, Dr. Scott came into the room, “Can everyone give us a few minutes, I just want to ask Lily some questions, and she is going to need to rest again afterwards. We don’t want her getting tired out.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” I’d waited nearly six days for her to wake up. Determined to stay and protect her, there was no way he was getting me out of there. Dr. Scott told me that Lily would perform better without distractions, but Lily became tearful wanting me to stay and he said that I could.

  Taking a seat by the window on a small leather couch, I watched the doctor give Lily the third degree about her long and short term memories. Glancing up at the sky, I noticed the window was steamed up and impulsively I wrote, “I love you Lily.” On the window.

  When the doctor was finished he told us, “We’ll just run one more MRI tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll be able to give you the all clear to go home.”

  Standing, I walked over to her, smiling because I was about to test the water with her about something. “So you remember when you agreed to marry me the other day.” Lily bunched brow at me and I wanted to laugh.

  “You’re not going to tell me you don’t remember. Maybe I should call the doctor back and tell him that you’re having gaps. He might need to keep you here a bit longer.”

  Lily smirked, “You did. I do remember, and I believe I said no.” That stung. I wasn’t expecting her to say something like that to me.

  “You did, but then we talked, and you confessed you could never live without me and agreed to be my bride.” I wasn’t giving up that easily.

  “Well I did agree, but only if you wore one of my thongs under your tuxedo.” My eyes widened she was playing with me, biting back a grin, I said, “I remember, and I agreed, but only if it was the black satin ones with the side bows and frilly mesh at the edges.” I said, keeping my face deadpan.

  “We need to pick this up again later, I’m exhausted, and I think I need to nap again.” Lily’s eyes had started drooping again, and I was worried if she closed her eyes she’d never wake up again.

  “What’s wrong, Alfie?”

  Touching her cheek, I gazed adoringly into her eyes. “I’m frightened, Lily.”

  She frowned, “What are you frightened about?”

  Staring at how beautiful she was, “I’m worried if you go to sleep you won’t wake up again.”

  Lifting her good arm, she patted the bed, motioning me to get in beside me. I climbed on the bed and snuggled into her side cuddling her.

  Inhaling deeply, “God, I’ve missed this.” My voice was gruff, and I was suddenly choked with emotion of having her near me again.

  “Just lie with me, listen to my heartbeat, and hold my hand. “ That’s exactly what I did until I fell asleep.

  I was trying to get off the bed without waking Lily, but she stirred and opened her eyes, “Hey,” I bent over to kiss her forehead, “I didn’t mean to wake you, but I’m kind of relieved to see that you are.” Smiling at her.

  Jack arrived and I persuaded me to go home and take a shower. I protested but I was really in a state and Lily kinda threatened to disown me if I didn’t get out of there and take care of myself. Eventually, I agreed they were right and made to leave.

  Jack pulled me into a hug, and damn if it didn’t feel comforting, “Take care of her until I get back.” Jack’s hug had made me feel emotional, “With my life,” Jack replied.

  Kissing Lily tenderly, “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” I kissed the end of her nose and laid my forehead against hers and we stayed staring at each other for a minute. Inhaling her scent deeply before I pulled away.

  “I love you so much, Lily,” he murmured.

  “I love you too.” We smiled affectionately at each other, and I walked backwards until my back hit the door.

  Showing in a luxury shower instead of the wet room shower in the hospital was amazing. Shaving in the mirror, I could see how the past week had affected me.

  Sunken eyes, greyish tinge to my face, I was exhausted. Room service had brought me a meal of salmon and vegetables and I flopped wearily onto the bed. It was dark when I woke with a start I’d slept for eleven hours straight.

  Hurrying back to the hospital in case Lily was awake and I could talk to her again. I was going to broach the subject of her marrying me. Not directly, just put feelers out but make it around Drew and Elle’s wedding, but when I got there, Jack was sitting beside Lily on the bed and Lily was asleep on his shoulder. I should have been pissed, but he was comforting her when I was gone.

  Falling asleep beside her, Lily woke me stroking my hair, telling me to get beside her.

  So I pulled my hoodie over his head, took my shoes off, and climbed on the bed next to her, taking her in my arms. She felt amazing. Inhaled deeply and feeling contented, I kissed the top of her head.

  “God, Lily, I desperately wanted to do this again with you, but I was beginning to waver a little, on my faith, that he’d give me another chance, to have this closeness with you.”

  Waking with the feeling of Lily slipping from my arm, I gripped her tightly, “Hey,” I croaked quietly, “You okay, honey?”

  Lily was smirking, “Don’t look now but you’ve got an audience.

  “In a fucking hospital?” nodding slowly she smiled, our faces were so close, our voices barely a whisper.

  I wanted to kiss her and smiled slowly. “Well honey, you know m
e, always the showman.” She brushed some hair away from her forehead, tucking it behind her ear.

  Moving to kiss her Lily covered her mouth and said, “Wait. I need to brush my teeth.”

  Smirking again at her, “Lily with the stuff we’ve done in the past you think a little morning breath is going to stop me from kissing you?” I didn’t let her answer, just pushed my lips and pressed them firmly against hers. My tongue swept out, asking for entrance, then demanding it.

  I groaned and exhaled raggedly. She moaned, and I pulled away. “Fuck, what time do I get you home?” I muttered into her neck.

  We heard them sigh in unison. “Damn, how hot is that?”

  As soon as I wheeled her outside of the hospital the noise of camera shutters was deafening, flash bulbs went off even in the daylight, I shielded Lily by pulling her face tightly into my chest, while Henry and Carl pushed them aside and helped us into the limo.

  We drove to a private airstrip where a charter plane was waiting, courtesy of Rick, and within about twenty minutes of being on board we were in the air and on our way home to London. “I guess I need to get us one of these.” So much for not wanting to create more of a carbon footprint than necessary.

  Chapter 61 – Meeting

  Lily was exhausted and fell asleep as we took off and had an uneventful journey home. Her parents were relieved to have her back. She was so tired all the time and seemed to get exhausted just breathing

  “Thank God you’re okay, Lily. Everything is going to be better from now on. We’re just going to be guided by you. When you need to rest do it, you promise me?” She nodded.

  During the time Lily was asleep Charlie came and sat down across from us. “You really love her don’t you.” He stated.

  “Absolutely. I’ll love this girl forever. If she wasn’t with me, nothing else would matter. Lily is the other half of me I didn’t know was missing, until she wasn’t around.”

  Roslyn made dinner after afterwards my cell buzzed and I took a call from Elle. Lily’s face was full of concern because they had an argument the day Lily left to work with Cobham Street. Elle felt Lily wasn’t being fair to me, and it was a shock to Lily that Elle had spoken out against her. I spoke to Elle for a couple of minutes, and then passed the phone to Lily.

  Swallowing audibly, Lily took the cell and within minutes they were talking like nothing had happened. Lily arranged to go with Elle to pick a wedding dress and an idea I’d been mulling over suddenly became more than that in my head. Texting Drew, I then put my cell back in my pocket.

  Lily was exhausted, “Sorry, guys but I am really done for the day, I need to go to bed. I had been hoping to have more energy, but with the flight and all the emotion of leaving hospital, I am wiped out.”

  Settling Lily in bed and lying beside her was all I had wanted from the day I left her in that hotel room in Paris. Lily shucked herself out of her sweatpants and my eyes fell to her groin her pussy was beautiful and I knew I was being selfish but I couldn’t wait to be inside her again. She asked me to help her take her tank top off, the spaghetti straps made it difficult to pull it above her breasts with just one hand.

  Walking over, I smiled, “You’re going to use that hand to torture me with stuff like this for weeks now, aren’t you?” I said playfully.

  “I might…if you’re good that is.” She smirked and I slowly peeled carefully off of her.

  Throwing the tank top down I studied her naked body, my hands automatically cupped her breasts, and I smiled, I was going to devour her when she was better.

  “Hmm…yeah.” I nodded slowly, swallowing hard.

  Lily snickered at me, “What does that mean?”

  “My dick twitched in appreciation when I got you naked, I was just agreeing with him.” I smirked playfully.

  Chuckling, she shook her head. “Not fair Alfie, you have me at a disadvantage.”

  Raising my eyebrow. “How so?” I bit back a grin.

  “I’ve given you a lap dance, and as I’m kind of laid up at the moment, I think it’s your turn to do something for me.”

  “Seriously? You want me to strip for you?”

  She giggled again, “Are you telling me you’ve never done that before, and you are a famous rock star an’ all?” Lily tried to mimic Holly’s Texas drawl and we both laughed, “Well maybe not today, but I’ll want you to surprise me with that sometime, okay?”

  Chuckling, “Sure and I can choose when it happens and the music, right? That means you’ll be left in suspense until I decide to put you out of your misery with that one.”

  Taking off my clothes, and changing the lighting, I finally got between the sheets with my girl. Feeling the luxury of skin on skin with her was something else and I smiled widely.

  “Let me just look at you,” I stated, staring into her eyes .After a minute I inhaled deeply. “You really have no idea what you do to me, Lily. I am so grateful that I’m right here with you.” Again, we had a reverent silence where we just stared at each other.

  “I love you, Alfie.”

  It sounded wonderful to hear her say that, “You know, that just doesn’t do it for me.”

  “You don’t think I love you?” She looked scared.

  “God, no, honey. I mean, I love you doesn’t begin to explain what I feel for you. I know I was a shitty person in the beginning to you, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could have had a do over with you for that. What I want to say is…Lily, this isn’t how I wanted to do this, but right in this moment, I feel it’s the perfect time.” Swallowing hard, I knew that in my heart this was the perfect moment to do this.

  “You are the only girl I have ever known that stirs every feeling in me that I both want to feel and never want to feel again. I have thought about that long and hard, and I’ve come to realize it’s because when I met you, my heart ceased to be mine and became ours.”

  Working another swallow my eyes searched her face, “It means that you have the ability to convey your feelings from your heart to mine, so that both of our hearts connect and communicate with our bodies without a single word being spoken.”

  “So.” Jeez, this isn’t what I had planned at all but it just somehow felt like exactly the right time to do it. I was so nervous about saying it out loud and smiled nervously, as I took Lily’s hand and held it over my heart. “Can you feel it beating?”

  Lily nodded choking up at me trying to convey my feelings to her, “So…Lily, my sweet, beautiful perfect, forever girl, will you marry me?”

  Bursting into tears, Lily lowered her head, “Okay, I wasn’t sure if you would agree, because I know you worry about how you can have a career and being with me, but I wasn’t quite expecting this. Please don’t cry, Lily. I’m sorry, it was stupid to do this now, especially when you’ve just come home from the hospital, and it’s an emotional time any way…”

  Looking up she put her fingers to my lips, “Shush.” Sniffing through her tears and her breath hitching she said,

  “Alfie, what you just told me, I have been waiting to hear for the past two years. I love you with all of my heart. There has never been another man for me since I realized how I felt about you.”

  Lily cupped my face in her hands, and I stared at her worried she was starting to let me down gently. “You don’t need to worry Alfie I would never turn you down, because my heart is completely in time with yours. I feel like you have one half and I have the other, so I know exactly how you feel. I don’t know how we’ll work it out, but now that we’ve started, we need to keep moving forward. A life without you is no life, music or no music.”

  Lily smiled and kissed my lips softly, and my hands cupped both sides of her head. We were lying naked, facing each other, snug under the duvet in the bedroom she had grown up in. Personally, I thought it was the perfect place to propose to her.

  “Alfie Black, I most definitely and absolutely will marry you on one condition.”

  I frowned. “Anything.”

  Lily smiled, �
�Never leave me without talking to me again, and if we’re apart, you never ignore me, I can’t stand it, it tore me apart Alfie.”

  Smirking, but feeling embarrassed, “Well technically that’s two conditions, but you don’t need to worry, Lily, I can tell you right this second that it’s never going to happen again, because we are never going to be apart again.” Emphasising the ‘we’ by moving my finger back and forth between us.

  “So… I’m going to ask you the question again, because I think my answer got lost in all the discussions that followed it, and I need to be absolutely clear. Lily, my sweet, beautiful little rock chick, will you marry me?”

  Grinning, Lily kissed my closed mouth and we stared at each other, then she said, “Alfie, nothing would give me greater pleasure in this life than to be your wife, so yes of course I’ll marry you.”

  The feeling of elation I had at those words was incredible. Exhaling loudly, I growled and pulled her closer into his arms, breathing heavily into her hair.

  “Thank you, Lily, you won’t regret it. I am going to do everything in my power to make you the happiest wife in the world. Apart from all the bullshit, we’re a perfect match.”

  I smiled again, “So, I look forward to waking up to you every day for the rest of my life, because you are mine, and I am the luckiest fucking man in the world.” I squeezed her and sat up turning the bedside lamp off and snuggled back down beside her.

  “Okay, I turned the light off because I want you to concentrate on this kiss. It’s the first one as my fiancée.”

  Lily started to giggle, but the sound died as soon as I began to kiss her and was replaced by soft gasps and moans. Kissing her with all the love I had in me. It was everything from soft, slow, and tender, sensual and passionate, to hungry and devouring. When he broke the kiss, we were both speechless and breathless.

  A tear ran down Lily’s face and I placed her hand over my heart and then placed mine over hers. The beats were in harmony, our own music from the heart. “At one point I told you I didn’t do emotions, but when we feel this way about each other, there is no denying it.”